Things Can Get Complicated
by TheNewKidd
Summary: So here I am, high school junior, in love with the gorgeous senior basketball captain,washboard abbed it-boy of East High, boyfriend of my sister, and way off-limits for me.Boy, oh Boy, do I HATE high school--- TxG
1. Crazy Little Thing Called Love

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the plot, Cale Bolton and Carolyne Montez.

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**Ch.1:Crazy Little Thing Called Love**

The first thing I should tell you,before you get yourself in too deep, is that I'm completely, irrevocably, and crazily in love with Troy Bolton, and have been for four years. Beautiful, smart,popular, funny, adorable, irresistible,Troy Bolton. With his blue eyes and sexy, shaggy brown hair, it's no wonder he was at the top of the list for every girl who'd ever set eyes on him, obviously including mine.

I have no idea when I knew I loved him. I think I woke up one day and realized that four years of blushing when Troy talked to me, smiling when he looked at me, and acting like your everyday idiot just being around him, actually meant something. So I put it all together in my little head, and came to the conclusion that I, Gabriella Montez, was in undeniable love with Troy Bolton. Now, you're probably thinking-yeah,so? You see, the thing is, he's my best friend's brother, which is only the beginning of the complication. But the real dilemma is the fact that said Troy Bolton is taken- by my sister, Carolyne Montez. What a real clincher that is, right?No,I'm not some kind of slut who throws herself at him whenever Carolyne is in the bathroom, and no, he's not the type of guy who would even allow that to happen. He's TOO nice, which stinks for me, because I think,maybe, that sneaking around behind closed doors would actually be kind of enticing. Just kidding.

So, I automatically had to see Troy fifty times more than usual, with him practically being my brother in law. And let me say this- it SUCKED. I mean, who actually likes seeing someone all over the object of their affection, especially your freakin' sister. And when you have to see them hug, and kiss, and hold hands, and _make googley eyes,_you'd just like to throw the towel in right there and pounce, but in my case, that would result in me being grounded for attacking my _sister,_ _girlfriend_ of the reason she's being attacked. Somehow I feel that even though my mother would understand why,I'd still be grounded. So, for now, I keep the claws drawn and smile when Troy and Carolyne play footsie under the dinner table. Yuck.

But of course, I couldn't be too mad at that fact, seeing as how she doesn't know that I love him. Scratch that, the only people in the world that knew were me, my best friends Cale Bolton and Taylor Mckessie, and of course, my mother, because mothers can always guess things like that.

I have to say I'm proud of myself,though,for keeping it between just us four. Ever since fourth grade, I'd been, 'Loudmouth Montez' or 'Gobble,Gobble Gabby.' I had probably the biggest mouth when it came to secrets. Not that I liked sharing peoples innermost thoughts that they had trusted me with, I just didn't know how to hold them in. Most of the time I had no idea what I was saying.

Random person in Calculus:Hey,Gabriella,what's up?

Me:Oh, you know, the usual. Gina Richards is pregnant, again, I mean, you'd think that after _three _t-tim-es...Oops.

You see! I just can't control what comes out of my mouth when I'm not thinking straight, which results in _alot_ of angry people, and _alot _of embarrassing moments. Terrible, I know, but I blame it on genes. Damn those big mouthed Cherokee Indian ancestors of mine!

I'm proud of myself because I had managed to keep my admiration of Troy Bolton, a secret, and we all know how hard secret keeping is in high school, as I've just explained. Believe me, you have _no idea_ how many times I've wanted to throw myself onto his front steps and proclaim my undying love for him. Not. I've just almost slipped up a time or two...or three.

So here I am, high school junior, in love with the gorgeous senior basketball captain,washboard abbed it-boy of East High, boyfriend of my sister, and way off-limits for me.

Boy, oh Boy, do I HATE high school.

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**A/N:**This first chapter is just a starter, and the other chapters will defiantly not be this short. So enjoy, review, and then I'll continue the story.& also, the chapter title is a song title by **Queen**.

Ciao,

TheNewKidd.


	2. When You Were Young

**Disclaimer:**I own nothing but the plot, Cale Bolton,Carolyne Montez, and Zac Efron. Just Kidding, only in my dreams.

Chapter title is a song by **The Killers.**

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**Ch.2:When You Were Young**

I was nine years old when they moved in next door to my family. Of course, I wasn't in love with Troy then, I still thought all boys besides the Ken doll, had cooties. The first Bolton I met was Cale. My mother, being the friendly neighbor she's always been, took it upon her noble self to bake them some 'Welcome to the Neighborhood' brownies. Literally, she wrote 'Welcome to the Neighborhood' on the brownies with white icing. She loved taking things too far. And I, being the nosy nine year old I was, and still am, only seven years older, decided to go along with her, because maybe they had a kid my age. It's always a plus to have someone to play barbies with. Too bad Cale Bolton obviously wasn't the barbie playing type, and I knew that the minute I saw him.

He was standing in his front yard, in only his boxer briefs and cowboy boots. He had a bright orange gun in one hand, and a bright orange Popsicle in the other. The first thing that I thought, other than 'ew,a boy' was 'ew, a _weird _boy.' But I decided to introduce myself,anyway. Bad idea, I guess, because the minute I walked over to him, I found myself on the ground, with him hovering above me.

"You're a _girl?_" Was the first thing out of his mouth. He was staring at me as if I was an alien, and I'm sure I was staring at him the same way. He was crouched on top of me, his boots jabbing into my sides as he eyed me.

"Duh,genius," I had said, and pushed him off of me. He tumbled over, and redeemed himself to a sitting position beside me.

His face was still the same, confusion still etched across it."But you're at _my _house. What are you doing here, this is a _boy's _house, only."

"Your mom is a girl." I had challenged, and he obviously hadn't thought that far into his interrogation.

"Yeah, but she's strong. Only strong girls are aloud to be here."

Now this had made me mad. I knew I was strong, and I wasn't about to have some cootie infested boy degrading me.

"Oh yeah?Well, if I beat you in an arm wrestling match, I get to stay here."Cale Bolton obviously wasn't one to back down on a challenge,so he replied "Fine," and I grabbed his dirty little hand.

We sat there, until dark, rematching over and over, because being seven year olds, someone always had to be a cheater. And finally, only when my mother had called me home, had we compromised.

"You might not have beaten me, but you're pretty strong for a girl,"Cale said, before I crossed the street to me house.

"You might not have beaten _me,_ but you're pretty strong for a boy,"I had replied, smiling my cute little nine year old smile.

He shrugged. "Well,I guess you can come over tomorrow."

I shrugged back. "I guess I can."

And after that, we had been inseparable.

I didn't meet Troy until the next day. My first impression of him wasn't much different from Cale's, only Troy just seemed nicer. And, no, I'm not saying that just because I love him, because remember, I didn't know it then. I'm saying it because he didn't throw me to the ground at first sight. He politely extended a hand to me, and now I wonder where Cale got his manners from. Troy told me he was ten, and that he was the fastest runner in his old school. Obviously the two were related, because they were both extremely cocky.

We spent the afternoon playing Nintendo 64, and eating all the junk food Lucille offered. It's safe to say that they turned me into a tom-boy, because before meeting them, I stayed holed up in my bright pink room playing barbies all day and watching The Saddle Club on television. But soon I found myself at Cale and Troy's everyday, and it wouldn't be a lie to say that we had become extremely close. And still were, in fact, aside from the only time I was seeing Troy was when he was making out with my sister on the couch after school, in the car, or whenever else they could get their hands on each other.

You see, I made the mistake of introducing Carolyne and Troy to each other. They would have met each other eventually, but I could have stalled it a year or two, to when I had at least a little bit of boob-age, and could at least offer _some_ sort of competition for myself. But here comes Carolyne, flouncing across the street in her ten year old glory, with her little skirt on and some _definite _evidence of boob-age. You could tell that Troy wasn't very interested-at first. Come on, he was a ten year old boy, and his hormones hadn't really kicked in yet. But, you could still tell he was _a little_ interested. He did cute little things like pushing her in the swings at the park, or chasing her around to tickle her. Not that he didn't do things like that to me either. Only, he did things like push me _out _of the swings, and chasing after me to _tackle_ me. Not so romantic, but hey, I was still glad.

Like I said before, I didn't love him then, or even like him much for that matter. I realized in the eighth grade that I had been crushing on him since the day I met him. Or maybe I realized it the day he asked Carolyne to the ninth grade dance, and I was more jealous than Pooh Bear of the bees that always get his honey. Believe me, even after I realized that Troy was taken by my backstabbing sister, I still liked him. And I even tried to force myself to like Cale,which ended up leaving Cale and I very disturbed and in situations we vowed to never talk about again. So, after awhile, I tried to make myself believe that Troy and I belonged friends only, because that was obviously all we'd ever be. Or maybe it was because of the time he said "You'll always be my boy, Gabriella," that I decided I had to keep my feelings a secret. Either that or kill myself, because believe me, if you've been called a boy before, you'll know what I mean.

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**A/N:**First of all, didja like? Let me know! And secondly, I realize this chapter was sort of BLAH, but I felt it was needed. It showed in the beginning how everything came along to how it is now, and it's Gabriella sharing her feelings on all of it, so even though it sort of droned on, it did have a point. And in the next chapter and chapters, there will be more interaction with Gabriella and people such as Troy, Cale, and Taylor, because she'll be going to school and won't be boring you with her thoughts as much :) So please, bear with me, and review, review, review!

Push that purple button please,

TheNewKidd.


	3. Sweet Caroline

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the plot, Cale, and Carolyne.

Chapter title is a song by **Neil Diamond**. & I know I spell the Caroline in my story _Carolyne_, but the chapter title IS still about her. Enjoy!

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**Ch.3:Sweet Caroline**

We had a sort of 'tradition' the Bolton family, and my own, about eating breakfast together every morning. Our families were actually very close, and a while ago, the mothers' of course, had decided to go Stepford Wives on us, and we alternated breakfast at each house every morning since then. This morning it was a Montez house breakfast, so I got to sleep in a little later. Not.

"Oh, Gabriell-lll-a. Time to wake up to this beautiful Monday morning."

It was Cale's voice, pouring through my ears, too early, if you asked me. I groaned and pulled the covers over my head.

"Open that door, and you die, Bolton,"I mumbled through me sleepy haze. But I wasn't too out of it to disregard that his reply came from right beside my bed.

"Too late, Montez," he replied smoothly, and then he ripped the covers off of my body. "Now, get up."

"Ugh," I moaned. He obviously had no idea how much I hated him right then, because he was grinning cheekily as I sat up in my bed, glaring at him.

"You look so beautiful in the mornings,"he tried, and the daggers I was shooting at him sharpened.

"Your hair looks fantastic?"he tried again, almost questioning himself. I let out a sound that crossed between a groan and a growl. "What?I thought girls loved hearing that kind of stuff when they look like crap."

I smirked at this comment. "Gee,thanks."

He smiled back. "I got a smile out of you."

"You got a _half-smile_ out of me."

He shrugged and began making his way to my bedroom door. "Same difference. Now, get your lazy butt up, dressed and downstairs, pronto. Your mom made chocolate chip pancakes, and if you're not down in ten minutes, I'm eating your share, and then leaving you here to take the bus."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Cruel."

"Lovely,"he charmed.

"Ass," I retorted.

"Hungry,"he replied, and ended things by walking out of my room. I groaned and rolled out of bed. Out of anything I hate, Monday mornings did me in. After being able to sleep in two days straight, then having to wake up at the crack of dawn, was pure torture. In my opinion, school shouldn't start until at least ten o' clock. After all, according to science, the body doesn't fully wake up until lunch. And I swear I looked that up.

Not that I hated school completely, but truthfully, what kid_ really_ likes it? I mean, I'm smart, so the classes are easy to me, and I have no reason to completely despise school, but the waking up at five A.M?--in the words of Raven Simone, 'gotta go.'

One plus, it that it never takes me long to get ready, being one of the only girls in school that could care less what anyone has to say. I also wasn't a girly girl by any means, and I usually always wore my hair into a pony-tail. Like today, for instance, it was up, and I was wearing jeans, a gray East High hoodie, and my worn to the soles, Vans sneakers. Like I said, I don't care. School isn't a fashion show, in the words of my mother.

So I 'traipsed' downstairs after seven minutes and fifty seconds, much to Cale's dismay, who was already preparing to eat my stack of pancakes.

"Not so fast, piglet," I called as I dashed into the room just as he was about to devour them. I slid behind his chair, snatching the plate, and his fork, out of his hands, and then sat down taking a huge bite. Troy chuckled and Cale gave me the evil eye as I made moaning noises, as if the pancakes were the most delicious things I'd ever tasted. Which, wasn't a complete lie.

I smiled at everyone seated around me, taking an extra long glance at Troy, who I hope remained oblivious to the gawking. But, _god_, did he look _scrumptious_. Okay, weird adjective to use, but, if you only _saw_ him...His long, flippy-style hair was dipping into his gorgeous blue eyes as he smiled at me.Good gracious, that _heavenly_ smile. The blue t-shirt he was wearing, that looked fantastic with his tan, only made me want to hop over the table even more than I already did. I wasn't sure if I was drooling over the breakfast, or him. Probably him, but shhh.

Only when he acknowledged me, yes, he SPOKE to me, did I snap out of my trance. " 'Morning, Gabs."

My heart lept as we continued smiling at each other. I took another bite of food to calm my nerves. Very un-ladylike, I know, but oh well. "Morning, Troy...Everyone."

I spoke with my mouth full, so the greeting sounded more like "Mornnhin,Trohe...Evhorreeohhne," which earned a grunt of disgust from the end of the table. I inwardly rolled my eyes.

"Ugh, you're such a pig,Gabriella. Troy,baby,please tell me you don't find that attractive at all?" Guess who? "I mean, for crying out loud," Carolyne Montez continued, obviously not concerned with an answer to her last question, "I don't see how we're even related. You act so much like a guy it's unreal. And, Troy, baby, could you cut these up for me? My nails are wet."

I guess I forgot to mention something. Oh,yeah. My sister is a HIGH MAINTENINCE BITCH! From her glossy high lighted hair, down to her fifty dollar pedicure, Carolyne Montez is a rude, spiteful, snide, snobby, and ungrateful bitch. And I'm embarrassed to call her my sister.

She hadn't always been that way. But once she made it onto East Highs Cheerleading team, she had changed. Typical. She was now East Highs 'prima' girl, and she was dating the school's 'primo' boy. And she treated everyone who wasn't anyone like crap, and apparently, everyone that wasn't Troy Bolton was no body, so she got the privilege of smashing everyone else.

But it wasn't how I was related to something like that, that I didn't understand, it was why Troy, sweet Troy Bolton, put up with her. He was the type of guy that held open doors for people, said excuse me if he bumped into you, picked up your books for you if you dropped them, and was friendly with everyone for no reason. He was not the type of guy to put up with a brown-headed version of Sharpay Evans. He should have been dating me, but of course, I didn't say that.

I watched him as he slid Carolyne's plate over to him, and began gently slicing through her breakfast, without her even having to ask him again. Because that was the type of person he was, like I just explained. And when she asked him to feed her a bite, he did, and when she leaned over to lick some syrup away from his upper lip, he didn't object, although it was obvious that he was uncomfortable with doing that in front of the entire table. I soon found myself sliding over my favorite food to Cale, before I got sick. He gave me a sympathetic look, before chowing down. I shrugged my shoulders and slid down into my chair, trying to ignore the waves of nausea hitting me as I watched the love of my life and Cruella De Vil practically get it on at the table.

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**A/N:**Sorry about this chapter also. I realize this one was sort of BLAH like chapter two, but I think it fit, and it had some cute parts, and it explained a lot about Carolyne. I wasn't always going to make her a bitch, but it makes it better doesn't it? Ha ha. And no, she is not going to be extremely cruel to Gabriella like in some other stories, where Troy's girlfriend tries to humiliate her and such. She's just a bitch, and she's just rude to Gabriella, not completely cruel. They're still family, after all. I just want to get this story started,ya know? I mean it can't start out with COMPLETE drama, we have to move there eventually. Ha ha. & thanks to all who have been reviewing. I appreciate it very much. So do it some more, please!

That's all, folks,

TheNewKidd.


	4. Hungry Eyes

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the plot,Cale,Carolyne, and one severely damaged, piece of crap Zune. Seriously, stick to i Pods, people.

Chapter title- song by **Eric Carmen**.

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**Ch.4:Hungry Eyes**

"G to the A to the B,R, I,E,L,L,A, to the G, to the A--"

"Shut the hell UP, Cale, it's too early for your Fergie impersonations," I mumbled, and earned a wicked grin from him, and thankfully, he turned off the radio. We were on the way to school, and I was trying to make it apparent that I was in a bad mood, because after what happened at breakfast, I already knew today was going to suck. Especially because it's Monday.

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood," Cale said, still grinning at me, and it hit me again, how handsome he is, for the second time since the ninth grade when I told him I liked him, and again, we ended up in an unmentionable situation, that involved alot of tongue kissing and alot of awkward moments. He had the same shaggy brown hair as Troy, only shorter, and curly, but paired with his were big, dark chocolate eyes, like mine, that you could melt away in. I mentally punched myself in the face at how stupid I had been. I mean, here was Cale, someone I could have been dating before I became too busy obsessing over his older brother to notice the potential. I mean, he and Troy almost looked like twins, aside from the fact that Cale was on the scrawny side. But he was still extremely attractive, and I had no idea why girls at school weren't fawning over him all the time, either. Well, correction, they were, but Cale was the type of guy who used to expression 'I don't date,' way too much.

"So, are we going to have a nice day?" He chirped, pulling me from my thoughts. I realized we were already at school. Lovely.

I sighed, and climbed out of his car, resting my body on the door. "I don't know. Ask me later."

Cale chuckled and grabbed our bags out of the backseat. Handing mine to me, he added, "Come on, Gabster, it won't be that bad."

He was completely wrong,of course. Because today was already horrible, and I hadn't even walked into school yet.

We walked up the front steps of East High School. My home away from home. Not. But it was a fairly nice school. Big, too. There were three floors, two gyms, two lunchrooms, the library was on all three stories, and there were a bunch of other little perks like that, that only a nerd like me would find interesting. And I didn't take offense to that.

The school colors, red and white, were absorbed onto every wall, locker, ceiling, and tile in the school. If there was any school out there that maxed in school spirit, it was East High. It was almost hard to not get excited about a basketball game, or something, when I came to school everyday facing...this.

Yeah, basketball. I probably should have explained this earlier when I told you Troy was the captain. Basketball was like every other high school's football. There was football here too, but I'm not even sure that anyone could name a player on the team.

So basically, basketball was like...let's say, FOOD, which would make Troy Bolton, head chef. Ew. Okay, okay, that was a really weird analogy. But I think you get the idea. Troy Bolton, is God here. Plain and simple. Now do you understand why I'm in WAY too deep? If anyone here knew about me crushing, okay, WAY more than just crushing, on Troy, I'd probably be the laughing stock of high school, as if I already wasn't...Because, here, cliques just DID NOT mingle. Well, okay, mingling was fine, this isn't Mean Girls. It's just the whole 'dating in a different group' thing. It was slightly frowned upon. There were distinct groups here, and they were DISTINCT for a reason. Meaning that if I was a nerd, even looking at a 'jock' like that was a no-no.

The warning bell rang, and that was Cale's cue to ditch me. He was smart, yeah, but he didn't take any AP and advanced classes like me, so therefore, the only time I saw him was lunch. We parted ways, and I made my way to my first class. Calculus.

Which I shared with Troy Bolton!

Probably should have mentioned that before, sorry.

I walked into the room, and you could already tell by the set-up that East High was extremely cliquey. Troy Bolton was found at the back of the room with about two other smart jocks, and one cheerleader, who probably had no idea why she was in this class either. Then there were your three Goths to the right side of the room, and a few select other people, such as Kathy Zuckerman from the girls' Lacrosse team, and Bradley Turner, who was new this year, and spent most of his time with what people called the 'preps,' which were different from the jocks, but the two groups were allowed to associate. Shocking, I know.

But anyway, the rest of the class was pretty much nerd-city. And I, fellow nerd, was greeted by my most loyal, nerdy best friend as I walked through the door.

"Gooood Morning, Gabs, best friend of mine!" Taylor Mckessie screeched as I walked in, oblivious to everyone else in the room staring at her. I should have added LOUD, to the list of all that is Taylor Mckessie.

"Hey, Tay," I replied, as I slipped into my seat, which of course, was on the first row. Hey, I had a hard time seeing the board.

"How was your weekend? I called you a billion times..." Taylor continued, as we began taking notes. Probably the only ones in class that were doing so, but anyway.

"Well, you know how Carolyne is when it comes to the phone, sorry. But, it was fine, I guess. Nothing new. How about yours?" I asked her, and there was an immediate change in her. She started glowing.

"Ohhh, nothin', I had that whole, anniversary thing with Chad...BLAH, you know..."She pulled up her hand and slowly pushed a piece of hair out of her eyes. I realized she did it on purpose when I noticed the rock on her middle finger.

She looked like she was about to burst into a million pieces at any moment. "Spill, RIGHT NOW, Taylor."

"Spill what?" She said, shrugging, pretending she had no idea what I could possibly be talking about. She looked at me from the corner of her eye as she resumed taking notes. Three... Two... One... "Okay,okay. So, you know how Chad and I had an anniversary date Saturday, right, well he took me to LAVA SPRINGS, Gabs, the nicest place to eat in Albequerque. Isn't that just so ROMANTIC! So, anyway, we were there...eating, laughing, talking, you know, and well..."

So. Chad Danforth. Typical basketball jock. Best friend of Troy Bolton. But what people certainly didn't know about him, was he was incredibly sweet, and actually very smart. And he loved Taylor. But everyone knew that. Probably from the moment she dumped her smoothie on him after he made fun of her glasses, when he was in the ninth grade. But he didn't show it then. Not until we got to high school and she finally started to grow into her water head. To me, and everyone else, they were the perfect couple, and it was the sweetest thing, clique barriers aside. I guess since they'd dated for so long, three years, people didn't really care much anymore. Which was a good thing. Because they were so in love, as i've just explained.

"...Gosh,I couldn't even breathe. It was the most amazing thing someone had ever done for me, don't you think?" Taylor was saying, and I was completly lost. My bad.

"What?"

Taylor huffed and rolled her eyes. "Were you even listening to _one _thing I was saying, Gabriella?"

I smiled meekly. "No?"

" He gave me the ringggg!" Taylor sang, her eyes glossing over in excitement, holding her hand out to me,and I finally got to really look it over. It was, indeed, a very pretty ring. It was white gold with a very small, but still beautiful, emerald in the center, since green was Tay's favorite color. There were two diamonds on each side of the emerald. It was gorgeous, and perfect for Taylor. "See? Isn't it gorgeous! It was his grandmother's, but I don't care, that makes it even more special, right! But it's the way he did it, you know...he had them put it in my cupcake! I almost ate it, though! But he stopped me at the last second. By covering my dress in the cupcake, of course, but, oh, Gabs, it didn't even matter...he's the sweetest guy in the world! I just..."

Taylor was the worst when it came to rambling. She'd talk for days if you let her. So, as if by my absolute luck, Mr. Caldler started with his daily lecture, right then, and ever so nerdy Taylor stopped short of her day-long conversation to take notes, as did I, and before I knew it, the bell was ringing, and I was packing my stuff up to leave. Taylor had already shot out of the room, for obvious reasons, and I was left alone. Well, so I thought.

"So, you got an ear-full today, huh."

I froze. There was only one voice that could give me shivers, make my heart beat a thousand miles per hour, and cause my legs to go jell-o.

Troy Bolton's.

"What?" I managed to squeak, as I turned to look at him. He was sitting on top of the desk Taylor sits in, in all of his bronze skinned, blue eyed glory. It was nice to see his face without Carolyne's glued to the front of it. YUCKO.

"About Chad and Taylor's date? I heard you guys talking. I got my share Sunday morning. Chad came over at the crack of dawn to tell me everything that happened." He said with a sexy chuckle. SEXY CHUCKLE. Keep it together, Montez.

I let out a rather nervous laugh of my own. " Oh. Really. " Oh, really? What the hell, Montez! Tell him you love him. Do it! Okay, okay, don't do it.

He nodded. "Yeah. It was actually my idea, the ring. Because what girl doesn't like jewelery, right?" He added another short laugh at the end.

I followed with another crappy laugh from myself. "Yeah...what girl doesn't..."

"Mhmm." He mumbled, looking around the room slowly. Is it just me, or does it seem like he wants this conversation to last a little bit longer? His eyes continued to dart around the room. Until they finally landed on me. I might be insane, but from the looks of it, his eyes are actually...gulp...traveling down my body. Okay, okay, now they're back up to my face. Oh, no, going down again. And he was smirking. PERVERT. Bad Troy Bolton. Bad.

"Well!" I said rather loudly, breaking him out of his, yikes, trance. "I should be getting to my next class. See ya."

"Later, Gabs."

And with that I darted out of the room without a glance back. Okay, so I glanced back, and there he still sat, looking at me rather oddly. Great, I proved to him that I really am a freak. Ten points to you, idiot.

I took one more look back, but he was gone. And then the warning bell sounded, which meant I had thirty seconds to get down to the first floor, from the third, and into my World History class. I was going to be late. Thanks, Stupid Troy Bolton, for talking to me and making me late, even though it's what I've been waiting for you to do all day, and thanks, Stupid Troy Bolton, for letting your eyes wander all over me, slowly, might I add, and making me fall even more in love with you, even though you were being slightly perverted, which I can't blame you because you're a guy, but you shouldn't be doing things like that while you date my bitch of a sister, when you should be dating me in the first place. Thanks, Stupidhead Troy, I love you.

And I need extensive therapy.

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**A/N: **So how was that for a fourth chapter? My longest one, although still not very long. Sorry. I'll try to lengthen them. Another thing. Please, please review! I like looking and seeing that I have new ones, and your insight really helps me out alot! Thanks to those of you that have been doing so! :D

& in on a more serious note. In this one, I gave you a little bit about the whole Cale and Gabriella thing, you know, about the situation Gabriella said they vowed to never talk about again and you also know what he looks like. Think, Shia Lebouf. Because that's who I based Cale off of, and I stole his name from Disturbia, too. And I gave you some more TROYELLA, and come cute little bits of Chaylor :D And to you who asked about who Cale is going to be paired up with, I have no clue. Probably an original character, but I don't know. Ideas? PM me, or tell me in a review!

Thank you all, so much!

TheNewKidd.


	5. Blue Monday

So this chapter is dedicated to all you reviewers and specifically Line 101 at the beginning, because she noticed that Gabriella was sort of shy around Troy, and it explains that. Thank you all, & enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the plot, Cale and Carolyne.

Chapter is a song title by **New Order**.

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**Ch.5: Blue Monday**

"How was school, today, Gabriella?"

When would parents ever give up with the whole 'we care about what happens in your day' scheme? Because, we all knew they didn't, and they wouldn't like our real answers if we told them.

"Just fine, I guess. I had detention for being late to my second class. But don't blame me, blame Troy Bolton for molesting me with his eyes. And before you ask, yes, he's still dating that bitchy other daughter of yours. So why was he gaping, you ask? I have no idea either, but I liked it. Almost as much as I love sex and bikers."

Just kidding. I didn't say any of that but the sex and bikers part. Okay, so I didn't say that either.

"It was fine, Mom." Was what I really said, before grabbing a bottle of water and heading up to my room, to do my five hours of homework. Joy.

But too bad Troy Bolton is breaking my entire concentration flow, as usual.

I should have told you this before. When it comes to Troy Bolton; I'm a total girl. That might not make sense, so let me explain. I freeze up. My words come out jumbled, I blush too much, and I act like a complete fool. Usually, I stay calm around boys. Because from what most people know about me, I'm Gabriella Montez-tomboy, that isn't the least bit boy crazy, and doesn't care what anyone thinks.

But, to those of you who know me, which let me remind you again is a VERY select few people, that's not who I am at all. I don't like many boys, but when one comes along that I do have an interest in, I have no idea what to do. I become a mess. Even around Troy Bolton, whom I grew up with, I turn into this shy, brain dead, lovestruck teen. Well of course I would, since I love the boy. But I think it would be a lot easier liking him if I didn't really know every little thing about him...and of course, if he wasn't dating my sister. What I mean to say is that what complicates things is, Troy and I are friends. Atleast we used to be. High school really got to our friendship. The whole thing about DISTINCT groups, went into play when we reached ninth grade. The first day went as follows...

Troy: Well, Gabriella, I'm a lunkhead JERK basketball player now and you're a geeky science nerd, so sorry, we can't be friends in high school. Peace.

Me: I feel the same way. Good thinking, ex-best friend.

Okay, so I completely made that up. Truth is, we just fell apart. And it sucked, major. There was basketball practice, scholastic decathlon meets, more practice, science club, more practice, garden club, games, of course, art club...Okay, so I was in a lot of nerdy clubs, sue me. Back to the matter at hand. We just stopped spending time with each other. He promised we'd start hanging out more, blah blah blah. But truthfully, I knew he didn't want to. He wanted to leave me behind, and I sort of couldn't blame him. We were from two different crowds, and it wouldn't ever be the same, we knew. I guess we didn't realize it until it actually started to happen. He started seeing more of my sister and the 'cool crowd' and less of me and his own brother. That's right, Cale. He felt exactly the same way about the situation.

Cale: Man, oh man...Do I HATE my brother. Freakin' idiot. Too stupid to realize his undying love for you, Gabriella, smartest, most beautiful girl in the world. Too busy macking on your toad of a sister...

Me: You are so right, Cale. No wonder they call you the 'Better Bolton.' Now, let's perfect this letter to Al Pacino, asking him to take Troy out, shall we?

So I exaggerated on that conversation too. But I'm still getting at the same point. We both missed Troy like crazy. I'm surprised I can even deal with him only saying hello to me now days. We used to have an actual friendship, and now I wasn't even sure he knew I existed. Well, he obviously did, but not in the way I wanted him too. I wanted to go back to the days when we were best buds, and he wasn't embarrassed to be seen talking to me at school. But I guess 'nerdy' ex-best friend, was the only way he would ever see me now.

It still felt awkward, though, seeing him at my house, or his house, all the time, and only smiling and waving at each other. He just seemed too busy now, I guess, too absorbed with something else to even notice ME, beautiful ex-best friend of his, was still alive. Well, maybe beautiful is taking it too far. I'm just your regular plain Jane. Long, thick brown hair, big brown eyes, tan of course, because have any of you ever seen a pale Latino? I guess my body was okay. I mean I've never been partial to being short and skinny. I'd rather be tall with curves, like Carolyne, but I got the burnt end of the bargain. Short, thin, and without curves. I looked like a midget. Well, not really. Five four isn't that short, but I would rather be around five eight. Or maybe even six eight, like Shaq. The point is, I wasn't what most guys would find appealing. Sure, I'd been asked out before, but I guess dating wasn't really my thing, and I guess dating _me _wasn't any guy's thing either. That actually makes a little sense.

-

-

I was sprawled across my bed with piles of homework, and on the phone with Taylor when I got the call. "...but we made up right after, and he got me an ice pack for my foot. Freakin' idiot. I mean, who tries to juggle hot frying pans...obviously Chad, right. Gosh, he's so dumb sometimes."

And as much as I wanted to listen to Taylor go on and on about Chad, which was all she ever did, the call came in right then, and I had to excuse myself.

"Tay, I'll call you back. Cale's beeping in." I told her, and it wasn't a complete lie. Because I though it was Cale beeping in, at the time.

"You're just gonna blow me off for Cale? Come on, Gabs, we've been best friends since pre-school and I'm going through a crisis right now, and--"

Jesus, would the girl ever learn to SHUT UP. I clicked over to the other line, which read 'Bolton, Jack 336 402 2940' and I just assumed it was Cale. I mean, who ever calls here from the Bolton house besides him for me? Right? Wrong.

"Halt, who goes there?" So, it was this nerdy thing me and Cale did everytime either of us called each other. We got the lines from the movie Toy Soldiers, and had been doing it for some time now. NO nerd jokes, please.

"Umm, Gabriella?" Cale said slowly. And at the time, I still stupidly thought it was him.

"No, no, remember? You're supposed to say, 'I am Archer, defender of the Gorgonites.' Now try it again, bozo. Halt, who goes there?" I said again, thinking my little charade was quite funny.

"Gabriella? This is Troy..."

Oh.

My.

God.

Gabriella Montez, you FREAKIN' NERDY IDIOT.

Okay. It's gotta be a joke. "Good one, Cale. What's up?"

He cleared his throat nervously. "Um. No...this is Troy...Bolton. Cale's brother?" I guess he thought I was mentally challenged.

Shoot myself in the foot, why don't I? As if he already doesn't think I'm a freak, let's add a tiara. Okay, so I totally ripped that off of The Princess Diaries. But, the real thing that's got me right now is, TROY BOLTON WAS CALLING FOR ME! Well, for Carolyne probably. And I humilated myself even more. But I STILL got to answer the phone. HA in your face, Cara boo boo.

"Oh...Sorry. I thought this was Cale. Hold on, I'll get Carolyne." I said nervously. I had opened my mouth the scream for her, because why on earth would I get off my butt for that BIMBO? When I heard Troy talking in my ear.

"Actually, I called for you."

And that was all it took for my heart to start racing, and my head to start spinning. Let me get this out again. TROY BOLTON WAS CALLING FOR ME! IN YOUR FACE, CARA BOO BOO BOO!

"F-For...uh...me?" I stuttered into the phone. The confident side of me was already gone again, and we weren't even face to face.

"Yeah...you see..."Troy started slowly, "I kind of need a favor."

Oh, boy, shoulda known this was coming. Let's call nerdy Gabriella Montez, since I'm failing and I'll get kicked off of the lunkhead squad if I fail. She has no life, and a lot of spare time, so she CAN'T say no. Right? WRONG!

"Look, Troy. I'm not all that smart...Maybe Taylor could help you. I mean, you may think I don't have a life, but I do, and I wouldn't have the time to tutor you...but I guess you figured 'hey, it's nerd Montez, so let me just' --"

"GABRIELLA!" Troy half yelled into the phone. Thankfully, cutting off my embarrassing rambling. Goodness, I'm almost as bad as Taylor. " I'm in your Calculus class, remember?"

Oh, right. That was very true. And with the way things worked at our school, any one in Calculus most likely took all advanced classes. Smart Troy. Dumb Gabby.

"I need a favor for something else..."He started again, since I refused to try to cover my last blow-up. " I was going to ask you today after class, but you kind of...bolted, before I could...But, mine and Carolyne's anniversary is next week, which you probably know. And..well, gosh...I still haven't gotten her a gift."

Oh, great. I would have rather had this be about tutoring, than Carolyne. And especially about their anniversary. Ugh. Can a teen in love ever catch a break? And forgive me for what I'm about to do, which is go completely Jan Brady on you. Carolyne, Carolyne, Carolyne.

"Oh...so you need my, help?" I asked. Well, of course he needs your help, dodo brain. He certainly didn't call just to inform you.

"Yeah. But, only if you're willing. I mean, you're probably the last person that wants to help her out, the way she treats you sometimes."

Oh goody. So the whole world knew the hell I went through with her. So why hasn't Maury or Jerry Springer contacted me yet?

"Anything to help family, thought. Right?"

He laughed a little. Beautiful, beautiful laugh. "Yeah. So you'll do it?

No, no, no, I absolutely WILL NOT. "Sure, Troy."

"Great, so we'll go tomorrow after school, then." He said quickly, obviously hoping I wouldn't change me mind. "Thanks alot, Gabs."

Wait. Tomorrow after school? Wasn't he just gonna ask me what she likes or something. I mean, I didn't want to actually go with him. Did I? Uh, no. Not to pick out a gift for -shudder- _Carolyne._

"Yeah, no problem." I heard myself say. No problem? Yes, problem, Gabriella, you idiot. You don't want to do this. Hurry, fix this!

"So, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

"Actually, I don't want to do this. I love you, and I don't want to go shop for whatever it is you're shopping for, that you'll be giving to my wicked witch sister, when you should be giving it to me. And I didn't mean that to sound perverted at all. I just love you, so so much. And I can't BEAR the pain this will bring, my dear love."

Okay, so I said all that after he hung up. The important fact of the matter is, I REALLY DON"T WANT TO DO THIS. Why can't he be like every other guy in the world that forgets their anniversary, and buys her chocolates at the last minute, and says 'It's the thought that counts?' Oh yeah. Because he's sweet, generous, Troy Bolton. And that's the reason I love him.

That's it. I'm going lesbian.

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**A/N:** Okay, so I didn't like this chapter AT ALL. But, once again, it was needed. And in the next one, they'll be going to shop for Carolyne's gift, and we all know, that Gabriella won't like it at all. :D So tell me what you're thinking.

I love you guys,

TheNewwKidd.


	6. Breakfast at Tiffany's

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this chapter but the plot, and Crazy Maggie.

Chapter title is a song by **Hootie and the Blowfish**.

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**Ch.6: Breakfast at Tiffany's**

Tiffany's. Great. The nicest jewelery store in the world, and Troy Bolton just led me inside. You've all seen Sweet Home Alabama, when Dr. McDreamy proposes to Reese Witherspoon and as he leads her in, and the lights come on, she's all _breathless_, and _shocked_, and the camera takes an extra long second to zoom in on the little blue Tiffany Co. box. Yeah. So imagine how I'm feeling right now, being in here, which for a normal girl, this would be a happy experience, but for me, it obviously wasn't. I'm not going to pitch the theme again, about what girl in the entire world wants to go jewelery shopping with the love of her life, when the love of her life doesn't exactly know he's the love of her life, and dates her bimbo sister. Well, looks like I pitched the theme again, sorry.

I should have taken Taylor's advice and blown him off.

"Blow him off." She had said, simply, which was what my head was telling me to do all along. But somehow, I just couldn't. Maybe it's because I had missed spending time with him. Or maybe it's because I missed spending _alone _time with him. Yeah, it's the last one. But I think I'd much rather spend this Q time doing something else,besides shopping for my sister's anniversary present, like playing video games, or watching Toy Soldiers. Just kidding for the last one.

"So. Are you going to look around?"

The question was from Troy. And I wanted to punch him. NO I am not going to look around, Sherlock.

"Sure." I answered instead. Don't blame me for giving in, it's those blue eyes that I can never say no to.

"Well, I'll be over here. Let me know if you see anything she'd like." She'd like? SHE'D LIKE?

"Sorry Troy Boy, but you probably couldn't even afford what SHE'D like, but I can help by saving time and money and tell you that she has a huge rock collection, and has been dying for the huge stone in your front yard. SHE'D like for you to put it in a Wal-Mart bag, and call it an anniversary present." Yeahhh, right. You ALL should know I didn't really say that.

I'll just pretend to look around over here, and let him find her gift on his own. He said let him know if I see anything, so maybe I'll just say that I didn't see one thing that Carolyne would find appealing. Although, this IS Tiffany's. I'm sure the girl could deal with a thousand dollar ring or something. But DON'T take that advice, Troy. She could very well settle for the one hundred and fifty dollar one on the clearance shelf.

"Hey,Gabs, come look at this one..."

Oh, wonderful. So I'm the judge in this situation. Which could have a perk, I guess. I could tell him that the most hideous item over there is what she'd love.

I walked slowly,slowly, over the where Troy was bent over a counter, with an attendant standing behind it. She smiled wide at me as I made my way over. I managed to give her one back.

"So you must be the lucky girl."

Huh?

"You've got yourself one heck of a guy." the attendant, Maggie, it says on her name card, was saying. "It's not everyday your high school boyfriend buys you something from Tiffany's...Atleast, for me, that's not the way it was. Buzz never bought me anything...or Jerry...and even Tim didn't shell out any money for me..." She was looking down, and seemed to be deep in thought, when suddenly she snapped up, so quickly, that it almost looked painful, and I jumped a little. "But, anywho," She exclaimed rather loudly. "I don't want to damper you with my relationship problems. ..you two seem just as happy as could be. So in love, right?"

I took this hesitation from her as a chance to steal a glance at Troy. Who happened to be looking right back at me. I raised my eyebrows, as if to say 'Man, is she coo coo bananas or WHAT?' I mean, for starters, did we even look like a couple. We walked in together, sure, but we hadn't held hands, or hugged, or even done anything to send out a 'couple' signal, once. I didn't even think I looked very happy, and I've already told you that a day at Tiffany's for a girl is like a day in heaven, and I definitely don't think I was sending out that vibe. Stupid Sales Lady.

I cleared my throat. "Actually, we're--"

"You're right, we're so in love. It's an amazing feeling. Right, sweetheart?" Troy cut in, and wrapped an arm around my waist.

What THE HECK? I know the look I shot Troy was a mix between 'Are you CRAZY' and 'OH MY GOD, your arm is around me.' But I was hoping it was a little more of the first one.

"Erm...uh..." I started, but I couldn't finish my sentence. What on earth was Troy doing?

"Tell her, sweetie..." Troy said again, looking down at me, with complete amusement. So he thought this was funny, did he?

"Um...yeah. SO in love?" I stated, but it sounded more like a question. Which it should have been, because, once again, WHAT THE HECK WAS TROY DOING?

Maggie, the sales lady, let out a low sniffle. This lady was NUTS. "Oh, how sweet, how SWEET! I just love couples like you...you make us nonbelievers believe in love again. You two are perfect for each other."

Thank you, crazy Maggie, sales rep at Tiffany's! Maybe you'll give him the idea now.

"Wait! Hold on, right there, love birds!" Maggie exclaimed., before dashing off into a door at the back of the store. How could no one else see how completely insane this woman was? And she still had a job? Because, I'm guessing this wasn't the first time this had happened with her.

I took this opportunity to hit Troy, who had burst into laughter. "Troy,what the hell was that?"

He was doubled over with laughter, and was trying to catch his breath. "Did...you see...her face! She...probably would...have cried if we...hadn't fake...being in...love!"

Well, good to know YOU were faking, because I certainly wasn't, Troy Bolton. And I don't think this charade was funny at all. I freaking' hate you right now.

Maggie saved me from having to speak. She came flouncing back, with one of those old cameras from the nineties in her hand. You have GOT TO BE kidding me, lady. "Okay, lovebirds," She chirped, and I was really going to hit her if she called us that again. "Stand right there, and SMILE!"

I could see Troy biting his lip in order to keep another burst of laughter in as he wrapped his arm around my waist again, pulling me to him. And let me just get out how GOOD it felt. His rock hard stomach pushing into my back. I was so close that I could smell his cologne, and it smelled really, really, good. His hand was riding dangerously low on my waist and it seemed like it fit there perfectly. His other arm was by his side, and he had my body positioned to where I was leaning on him. I must admit, to anyone that might have walked in, we did look like a couple. But we both knew it was a lie, and that's what crushed my enjoyment with the predicament.

"Big smiles! You're in love!" Maggie was chirping, and finally people were stopping to stare. She clicked the button, and after the light flashed, the picture popped out. She squealed with delight, and I made a move to unravel myself from Troy. But she stopped me. "Uh Uh, don't move an INCH! I need to take ONE more...so you guys can have it."

Oh, so this creepy lady was going to keep the first copy. Cool.

"Okay, get ready again!" She called out, positioning the camera over her eye. She was about to take the picture, when Troy did something weird. He leaned down...and kissed my cheek. The camera flashed before I even got a chance to really think about how good his lips felt on my face...how soft and warm they were, how good they would feel on MY lips...mmm...okay, so I OBVIOUSLY had a little bit of time to cherish that quick moment. But before I got a chance to look at Troy, Maggie was bombarding us, with a HUG.

"Oh, my oh my. I've never seen two so in love...love is a crazy thing. Makes me emotional," she said, and almost as if on cue, teardrops formed down her cheeks. I could FEEL Troy stifling a laugh. "Anyways, anyways. You two didn't come here to be bothered by a coo coo like me," Maggie said, and I smirked. So. She knew she was crazy too. "So, about the necklace..?"

My breath caught in my throat, and my stomach began churning. I felt sick. Oh yeah, the NECKLACE, the anniversary PRESENT, my SISTER. For a few minutes, I forgot why I was actually in this situation, with Troy Bolton. Things are hard to remember when your sister's boyfriend is pretending you date, so a creepy lady takes pictures, and he kisses your cheek, when what you're supposed to be doing is shopping for his ANNIVERSARY present to ANOTHER girl.

"I'll take it," Troy says to her, and unmistakably, he threw me a side glance.

Well, side glance all you want, Bolton. You have no affect on me.

Well, maybe just a little one. But one big enough for me to cry myself to sleep tonight.

Okay, is it just me, or is my life sounding like a crappy soap opera?

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**A/N: **Aha! So now, we finally got some real Troyella in here! Woot! And now, it's going to go on from here, and it won't be just Gabriella talking about things. The story line is set, now, so it'll progress from here...if that makes sense to anyone but me. Ha Ha.

By the way, please don't kill me guys. I won't be able so to update, because i'm going to a friends, and she doesn't have a computer! : but I should be back by Saturday or Sunday...I know thats awhile, but I'm sorry!

& another thing...Has anyone seen the commercial for the Disney movie coming out in June- Camp Rock? The beautiful beautiful, sexy, Jonas Brothers are in it! Oh my gahh. Disney channel is so smart, right :D

Anyways. Thank you for reading and reviewing. Stick with me, guys. I'm hoping this will get better soon!

You guys rockkk,

TheNewwKidd.


	7. Missing You

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the plot and all original characters.

Chapter title- song by **Chris De Burgh**.

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**Ch.7:Missing You**

"Was that hilarious or what?"

We were on our way back to my house. And Troy still wasn't letting the whole scene at the store go. It got annoying after he said 'Was that hilarious or what' for the tenth time in a row.

"Was that hilarious or what?"

Eleventh time in a row.

"Yeah," I said, saving myself from having to hear it again. "It was pretty funny."

"She was so gullible. She actually thought we dated." Well, what was she supposed to think?You told her we did, you called me SWEETIE, you put your arms around me. You KISSED my cheek for cryin' out loud. You made it pretty obvious that we were a 'couple' smart ass, so maybe next time, don't drop hints.

"Yeah...pretty gullible."

I just wanted to get home. So I could cry in peace. Maybe call Taylor and cry to her for a little while. And maybe call Cale, and cry to him for a hour too. Then, back to crying in peace.

"Atleast we got the necklace, though. Right? Do you think she'll like it?"

He hadn't let go of the necklace since we got in the car. I mean, it was nice, and it should have been, when he paid FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY DOLLARS for it. Yeah, no lie. This boy spent a fortune on my brat of a sister. But I gotta say, it's a gorgeous gift, and any girl would be crazy not to love it.

It's chain was long, thin, and made of white gold. There was one single pendant on it in the shape of a heart. The center was made of a cluster of diamonds, and it was outlined in regular gold. It was shiny, and dainty, and I hate to say it, but it was perfect for Carolyne. Yuck, you don't know how hard it was to say that.

"She'll love it, Troy. It's perfect." Yeah,yeah, too bad it's not for me.

"You know,Gabs," Troy started, looking over at me, "I'm glad we did this. We haven't hung out in so long. It was nice."

Yeah, nice. Nice of you to finally realize that I was still alive. Nice of you to invite me along to pick out an anniversary present for my sister when I'm in love with you. Nice of you to still be oblivious to this love after four freaking years. Nice, nice, nice.

"Yeah, it was." I managed to say, trying not to let the anger get the better of me.

"Hey, you remember that time me, you and Cale went to my Uncle's lake house, and we were in the pool with that snake. You grabbed it because you thought it was a water hose. And then you started freaking out when Cale asked you why you were holding a snake, and you wouldn't get back in the water for the entire trip..." Troy trailed off, laughing. I joined in too, because I did remember that, and it HAD been funny.

"Yeah, and I told you the reason I wouldn't go swimming wasn't because I was afraid of snakes, I just needed to work on my tan." I added, and he laughed louder.

"And then, when you fell asleep in the chair, Cale put that rubber snake on you." He finished, smiling at me. " You beat the crap out of him for that."

We laughed more at this, wallowing in the memory.

"Or what about that time we tried to make grilled cheeses, but we didn't have any cheese, so we tried to make some. We spent all day mixing everything in the refrigerator, until we thought we made something like it," Troy said, and I burst into laughter. We were stupid kids, what can I say.

"What was it...pickles, mayonnaise, mustard. God, it tasted horrible..." I added, and Troy actually threw his head back with laughter. GOD, that gorgeous head of his.

"We were sick for days, because my dad made us eat the entire thing for making such a mess." He said, shaking his head at the memory.

"Oh, what about that time..."

And we went on like this for an hour. I didn't even realize that it was dark out or that we had pulled into his driveway, and had been parked it in for two hours, talking, reminiscing. I knew I had missed Troy, I just had no idea how much until I actually talked to him, and realized how much I had missed talking to him for four years.

"Yeah, that was hilarious. I mean, the look on your mom's face when she walked in and saw him...priceless." I smiled at him, he was smiling at me too. He let out a deep breath, and shook his head.

"This is our first real conversation in a long time." He said, and I shrugged.

"Only four years." I stated, and mentally slapped myself. Way to give away that you've been obsessing over it since then.

He smirked. "Got this documented, do ya, Montez?"

Yes, I actually did write it down in my diary one or two times. Or three or four. Actually there is an entire entry about it...

March 23, 2008.

FOUR YEARS,DIARY!! FOUR FREAKING YEARS.FOUR YEARS!CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT. HE IS SUCH A JERK. FOUR—NOT THREE—FOUR YEARS. JERK JERK JERK. I MEAN FOUR YEARS--

You get the idea.

"Not exactly. I just remember the day you ditched me perfectly well." Yeah, because I cried for three weeks.

He laughed at this last comment. "Ouch,Gabs. You hit me square in the heart." I smiled, and shrugged my shoulders. What else could I say, he mostly deserved that.

"I really missed you, Gabriella."

Troy Bolton, could you just FOR ONCE say something to me to make me completely hate you, and not fall even more helplessly in love with you? Could you not be perfect for one minute? Just call me a bitch or something and send my on my happy little way. Sad little way, but same thing.

"Yeah, I missed you too, Troy. I missed...this." He knew what I meant, because he nodded, smiling. And I knew the conversation was coming to a close. I opened the car door, but turned to smile at him one more time. "See you tomorrow."

He smiled back softly. It took all of my willpower not to jump back into that car and kiss him like there was no tomorrow. But, I didn't do it, as I'm sure you all know. "Yeah, see you."

I closed the door after that, and was making my way across the street to my house when he called out to me.

"Hey, Gabs?"

"Yeah?" I walked a little closer. He was leaning on the side of his car. He looked so good doing that, too. He hesitated for a minute, before walking a little closer to me, locking his baby blue eyes with mine.

"I'm sorry..." He said quietly. I almost didn't hear him at first. But I heard him all the same. And I knew what he was talking about. Not about the store incident, kissing me on the cheek, any of that, because it already seemed forgotten, and I'd already forgiven him, even though he didn't say anything.

He was talking about sorry for us, and the way we'd become. Sorry for letting high school get the better of him, and pretending I fell off the face of the earth. Sorry for being a jerk, and sorry for acting like he didn't care. Sorry that we weren't friends anymore, and I'd thought that for four years, I was just little Gabriella Montez, sister of his girlfriend.

I couldn't answer him, and I don't think he expected me to. I just nodded and began walking back across the street, until he stopped me again.

"Cheeseburgers and milkshakes after school tomorrow? Just me, you and Cale. Like old times..." He said, and I knew I wouldn't be able to resist.

"It's a date." I called back, before I realized how I had said that. Not that I really cared, because it got a smile out of him and a returned one from me.

We parted ways, and this time, he didn't call me back, thankfully though, because it was getting rather annoying.

And I walked into my house, happy for once.

And even though I promised myself I'd cry when I got home. I didn't.

I went to sleep smiling.

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**A/N:** Here is your long awaited chapter...well, not so long. But here it is all the same. & just because I love you guys, i'm posting another right after this! But please don't hate me for giving you this incredibly lame chapter. I really couldn't help it, but truthfully, I love this chapter, even thought it's mostly dialogue. I think it was sweet, and it was one of the only ones so far where Gabby doesn't seem like some big, angry, bitch, that hates the world. Ha Ha. So review please, and tell me what you think.

Thanks all,

TheNewKidd.


	8. Mad World

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the plot, and original characters**.**

Chapter title- song by **Tears for Fears**.

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**Ch.8:Mad World**

"You, my friend, are in BIG trouble."

I didn't even have to turn around to know it was Taylor Mckessie speaking to me. I knew her voice anywhere. But more importantly, I knew this tone, and I knew it meant she wasn't happy at all. Prepare for lecture.

"What did I do?" I asked her, and the face she pulled was hilarious.

"What did you do?! What did you do?" She repeated and began pacing around the science room like an idiot. Twice a week during lunch, a few members of the Scholastic Decathlon team would meet for practice. But today, it was just me, Taylor, and Eddie Margaro, and she obviously didn't care that he heard anything she was about to say. "It's what you DIDN'T do, that made me mad, Gabriella. You didn't even TELL me what happened. I had to get the news secondhand from Cale. I mean, I thought I was your best friend, and this is something you should have called me about the minute it happened--"

"What are you talking about, Tay?" And truthfully, I had no idea what she was going on about.

She rolled her eyes. "Last night...Mall...Troy Bolton...ring any sort of bell in that pretty little head of yours?"

Oh,yeah. That. Oops.

"Look, Taylor. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, alright, I just didn't want to talk about it--"

She cut me off again. Great. " But you sure could talk about it to CALE! And-Sorry? Gabriella, he KISSED you, and I'm the LAST person to know--"

"Keep it down, Taylor!" I warned, shooting a glance over at Eddie, who was too consumed in some experiment that I'm sure he didn't even notice we were in here.

"You should have called me first, is all I'm saying." She finished, with a hint of hurt in her voice. I smiled at her.

"Tay, you know you're my best friend." I told her, and Taylor smiled.

"I know, Gabs. Sorry for yelling." She said, and picked up a piece of chalk, starting to work on the board with me. "Sooo...how was it?"

I groaned. I should have known this was coming. She was the nosiest person I knew. Besides myself of course. " I don't want to talk about it, Tay."

"Oh, come on, Gabby. Pleeease?" God, I hated her begging whine. And the little puppy lip. She was obviously a pro at this stuff.

"It was a peck on the cheek. Big deal." I said, but I lied. Because it is a very VERY big deal!

"It IS a big deal, Missy." Okay, so obviously Taylor agreed with my mind.

"Well, whatever. It was just a kiss." Wrong again, it was so much more than that.

"It could be so much more that 'just a kiss.'" Taylor explained. "It could be a good kiss, a bad kiss, soft, hard, long, short, slow--"

"I get the point, Taylor. But I don't know how to answer that. It was a kiss on the cheek...I don't think there's much I can determine about a kiss from him, when I only felt it on my cheek..."

Gabriella Montez, you liar. You know you felt that kiss all the way to your toes.

"Well. How did his lips feel?" Taylor asked, and I shrugged, sighing.

"I don't know..."

Taylor rolled hey eyes. "You can do better than that, Montez."

I smiled, looking over at her, my grin broadening as I thought about it. "They felt amazing."

-

-

"Why do I feel like the third wheel?"

Troy,Cale and I had piled into Troy's car to head to the diner. I had been excited about this all day and it was finally here. And Troy had finally kept a promise. I sat up front, after Cale was unwillingly forced to sit in the backseat by Troy, which I thought was rather funny, and Troy even sat beside me at the booth, leaving Cale on the other side alone, and he was having a fun time complaining it seemed.

"I mean, first of all, I was invited last, almost like a designated driver. Then I'm crunched into the backseat of your little ass mustang, Troy. Do you have any idea who much my legs hurt? I'm a six foot kid, and I shouldn't have to squish into the backseat of a car. And now here we are, with you two sitting over there...and me, over here. Looking completely lost and idiotic."

I laughed, as did Troy, and Cale shot us a look. It felt really good, to be sitting here with the two of them. Almost like the old days...only we were older now, and I of course, wasn't in love with Troy Boy then. And I didn't get a giddy, tingly feeling when he asked me to pass him the salt shaker. And then, I wouldn't have promised myself I'd never wash my hand again when he touched it to grab the Ketchup bottle. Wow, I am REALLY obsessed. It's almost kind of creepy.

"And you know what else...uh...okay, I got nothing." Cale started saying, obviously wanting to continue with his rant.

"Are you done now?"Troy asked him, and Cale sighed, slinking down into the seat. He grabbed a fry and stuffed it into his mouth, pouting like a six year old.

"Yes, actually." I laughed again, and Cale smirked. I got the feeling he was thinking the exact same thing I had been thinking a few seconds ago.

"The three amigos, back on track." Cale said, grinning wide. Yup, I was right. We were on the same page. I smiled back at him, then looked over at Troy, who was smiling too.

"I must say, I've missed this, guys," Cale added, throwing in some fake sniffles to make his confession more dramatic. "And now, we're back together again. Reunited and it feels so gooood."

I couldn't resist. "Reunited 'cause we understoooood."

"One perfect fit..."

"...and sugar, this one is it."

"We both are so excited 'cause we're, reunited..."

"Hey, Hey."

Troy burst into laughter, when Cale and I had finished our little performance, and soon we joined in too. I couldn't get over how much I loved this. I got one of my best friends back.

"Now that you're finally retrieved from the dark side,"Cale started, completely echoing my last thought. "We need to start making plans. We're hanging out everyday after school, now, bro. You're never getting rid of us again."

Cale went on, more excited than a kid on Christmas. It was funny though. Cale lived with Troy. He got to see him everyday, but he could still miss him, even after that fact. Even though they were brothers, Cale missed Troy so much, and Troy didn't even know. Truthfully, I didn't even know. I mean, it must suck to be ditched by your own brother. Because hey, I was only the love of his life, so I don't think the pain could really compare.

Troy laughed a little at what Cale had just said.

"Hey, don't get carried away, little bro. I still have a rep to uphold. I can't be seen with you two everyday. What would the people think, me stooping so low, hanging out with the Science Club?" He joked, even though it wasn't very funny to me, and obviously not to Cale.

"Oh,yeah, that reputation of yours. How did I forget?" Cale said, a little sharp sounding to my ears, but Troy remained oblivious. "Famous Troy Bolton...my brother."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll sign autographs later." Troy said, pretending to flick some dirt off of his shoulders. "But don't worry, Cale, I'll give you yours free. I mean, you are my brother, even though you may be lame and nerdy." OH NO.

Troy looked at me, smirking, as if I was supposed to think this was funny. I didn't, AT ALL, but I smiled a tiny smiled, before turning away towards the window, sipping my milkshake. This was not going to end good, and I knew it.

"Jokes like that are something you and your jock friends find funny?" Uh oh.

"Uh...What?"

"Jokes about you. Troy Bolton, school's playboy. Troy Bolton, basketball star. Troy Bolton, all-star son...Oh yeah, then there's little Cale Bolton. Nerd. Cale Bolton, geek. Cale Bolton, second best..." Cale snapped, and I couldn't blame him. Troy had crossed an unspoken line between the two. I mean, this was the first time they'd probably really talked in a long time, and the first conversation leads to how much better Troy is than Cale.

"Cale...What? I was joking, man..." Troy stated, and I could feel him glancing at me. Yeah, maybe he had been joking, but maybe it was just a little too soon for jokes...like that.

Sorry, darling, I can't save you from this one. You brought it on yourself.

"Yeah, save it, bro. Maybe I am the second best Bolton. But atleast I'm not the conceited asshole Bolton." Cale finished, standing up. Troy jumped to his feet after him.

"Hey! I was joking, Cale, you're taking it too far." Troy defended himself, and he was partially right. Maybe Cale was taking it a bit too far, but I knew this had been stuck inside of him for a long, long, time. And if I had the courage, I'd probably be doing the same thing right now.

"No, I'm not. I'm telling the truth. And someone needed to."Cale finished, shoving past Troy with his shoulder. "Are you comin', Gabby?"

Troy looked down at me when Cale said this. His eyes pleading with me, but I couldn't read them. I was hurt too I guess. I lied when I said science club jokes didn't affect me.

I nodded slowly, standing up, refusing to make eye contact with Troy as I made my way past him.

"Sorry, Gabriella." He said, apologizing for the second time to me, in twenty four hours. And I knew he meant this one even more than the first one.

I turned back, and offered a small smile. "Yeah, me too."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry, sorry, sorry. The story is kind of going off track now, but I really needed to do that whole thing between Troy and Cale, so Cale could get out some hurt feelings. And it seems to me like Gabriella is kinda...quiet in her mind, now. I'm gonna try to lighten her back up and bring the humor back, because I wasn't really feeling anything with these last two chapters...

Keep Reading!

TheNewKidd.


	9. True Colors

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing ): but the plot, and few characters.

Chapter title- song by **Cyndi Lauper**.

* * *

**Ch.9: True Colors**

Things were already back to the way they had been for four years. Cale refused to even look at Troy, which made me wonder how bad things were when they were at home, and I was stuck in the middle. Maybe Cale did overreact a little at the diner the other day...but I couldn't agree with him more. He'd probably been saving all of that up since the ninth grade, stuff that doesn't go away even when you write it down on paper, and crumple it into a ball...shut up, it works for me.

School the next day was terrible. And so was the day after that. And so on. I was more hurt than surprised when Troy didn't even speak two words to me in Calculus class, or in the hallway, or when he came over for dinner the next two nights. The 'family breakfasts' were a dread, and I didn't even bother waking up in time to get downstairs. Cale was like a leech now. He had been at my house every night until around eleven, when my mom would pry him from our couch after Mr. Bolton called our house phone ten times in a row.

Most likely, the reason I let myself get so upset is because, I was telling myself Troy was going to change. He had acted so different those three days. Yeah, three days. No wonder I'm so disappointed with him, three days isn't even enough time to starve to death, let alone change personalities. Okay, weird analogy.

But, I'm trying to make a point. Why would I believe in Troy so much, to think he's change for me? Oh, right, I love him. How could I have forgotten that? It's what got me into this mess in the first place.

It was Thursday. I hated Thursdays, officially. Well, I hated everyday officially. But today, was super sucky for some reason. Oh, yeah. BECAUSE TROY WON'T EVEN LOOK AT ME. Anyways. I'm sitting in boring, boring, boring History class. Mr. Grant is going on about something or another, and I'm staring at the clock. Could it go any slower? Only seven more minutes left.

Seven minutes, fourty nine.

Seven minutes, fourty eight.

Seven minutes, fourty seven.

Just Kidding. Did you think I was seriously about to do that. Instead, I used some of my quality class time to write Troy a hate note. Taylor gave me the idea, and I had used it before. You write down all of the things you've ever wanted to say to someone, then crumble it up, and throw It away. It was working rather well for me. I was a lot less angry.

Dear Troy Stupid Lunkhead Basketball Jerk Bolton,

I'm writing you this letter to tell you how much I loathe you. Which is a lot. You're dumb, and I have day dreams about punching you in the face. Not only because you ditched me off the face of the planet, but because you treat your brother like dirt, and he's my best friend, and I don't appreciate that. And another thing. You date my sister. Carolyne, bitch ungrateful spiteful spawn of satan, Montez. And you don't even know that after four years, I am so completly in love with you, it makes me sick. I love your smile, your hair, your laugh, your face, your smell. I love everything about you. And you know what, you don't even know. And you're never going to know, because you're too busy shoving faces with my sister. And by the way. I hate you.

Love,

Gabriella Montez.

Wow. What a letter, huh? And I meant every single word of it. I folded it carefully, and wrote Troy's name on the front in big loopy lettering.

I was debating on whether or not to show the letter to Taylor and Cale, when the bell rang, and I quickly packed my stuff up to head to, joy, Decathlon practice.

I looked for Taylor in the hall, but saw no sign of her. Probably making out with Chad before practice. I looked for Cale, but he was nowhere to be found. Which was strange, because he always waited for me. Always. But I guess he was still upset, and I didn't blame him. So I guess I have to walk all alone.

I have a secret way of getting up there, though. One that only a few very lazy people know about. On the right side of the stairwell, there is a storage room, and inside is heaven.

A service elevator.

I smiled to myself as I walked inside, the hallway clear of teachers and students. I was thinking of how crafty I was, taking the quick way up, and for some reason, I was extremely giddy.

But then I heard something. Giggles. Little, girly giggles that are the type chicks use in movies, when they're either trying to flirt...or, gulp,...worse.

And in this situation, I knew it was the latter.

I tiptoed past the elevator. I told you, I'm president of the nosy club, and I wanted to see what was going on. Big mistake.

I rounded the corner of the supply shelf, and the giggles were getting louder. I felt like I was playing Marco Polo. I crept around to the other side of the supply shelf, and the giggle sounded like they were coming from right beside me. Which they were, and I looked over. Third biggest mistake of my life.

I saw the dark hair peeking from behind a bottle of comet.

I saw the pink jacket on the floor, that looked strangely familiar.

I saw the black backpack that had a big, yellow smiley face sticker on it.

What a coincidence, Cale's backpack looks just like that.

I heard a voice then, one that was going to haunt me for the rest of my life. "Carolyne..."

I froze, and I'm sure my heartbeat was going two million miles an hour.

"Cale..." The other voice moaned, and I had to cover my mouth, as I screamed. Yup, me, dumb dumb Gabriella Montez screamed. And the best part is, I stood there.

"Shit!" Carolyne yelled, and jumped up, knocking over the bottle of comet as she did so.

"Who's here!" Cale yelled next, and I shook my head vigorously, as if telling him it wasn't me, when luckily, they hadn't noticed me yet. So I took that chance to bolt. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, which was pretty fast if you asked me. I ran out of the janitor's closet, and out of the school, just in time to catch the late bus. Cale had been my ride home. But there was obviously no way that I was going to ride anywhere with him.

I had just walked in on my sister and Cale...having sex.

My sister was cheating on Troy Bolton, love of my life.

My best friend was betraying his brother and sleeping with my sister.

And I didn't notice until I got home that I had dropped my hate letter for Troy in the storage room.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry about the wait (:This is really short, and there's some other things I'm mulling over right now about this chapter. I don't want to annoy you guys by saying this, but I didn't really like this one. I'm worried that I may have rushed this a bit. Do you guys think I did? But I bet you did NOT see that coming! Well, neither did I! Ha Ha. Please, tell me what you think, because I am so worried about this chapter! **bites nails in anticipation!**

& another thing. I am about to start a new story, I think. It's going to be based a little bit on The O.C. But not a lot, at all. Not like some of the other stories on here. Here's the summary:**Troy Bolton is a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Gabriella Montez is the over privileged princess that falls for him. **

Troyella, of course, and I haven't quite worked up a title.

Do you think I should start it?

Anyways. Review, please, about chapter 9! I love you guys!

TheNewKidd.


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